While commuting, it can be very helpful to a driver to have up-to-date transportation information to help him make commute-related decisions such as taking an earlier or later bus or train, or traveling a different route when traffic is stopped on a highway. For years, commuters could receive current traffic conditions from other drivers who request and receive current traffic conditions at their locations on a citizen band radio (CB). CB radio's channel 19 is an open channel which allows a CB user to identify their location to other CB users within transmission range, identify their location, and request current traffic conditions near that location. Updating traffic conditions by CB radio, however, is dependent upon having a CB radio user at a location useful to the commuter. In addition, CB radio is generally deployed in vehicles such as automobiles and trucks, and, therefore, is ineffective in providing up-to-date information on bus and train schedules.
Today's wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones, have a multitude of functions in addition to the traditional point-to-point audio communications. Modern portable communication devices can receive and transmit multimedia signals, such as photos or videos, with or without accompanying audio and, in addition, can access internet sites and information therein. The internet has a multitude of sites, some of which provide transportation information which is updated regularly to keep the information current. For example, train and bus schedules are maintained at internet sites and daily statuses on train or bus delays, possibly providing up-to-the-minute departure and arrival information, can be accessed through such internet sites. In addition, many internet sites provide access to video images from highway cameras placed at various locations on the highways or bridges. To access these internet sites and the current information provided thereon, however, is problematic for a commuter with a cellular telephone or even with a cellular enabled computing device. All cellular access to the internet and surfing thereof is subject to the limitations of the user interface. and the limitations of the cellular system's connectivity to the internet. In addition, surfing the internet from a car while driving along a highway would take attention away from the task of driving. Also, surfing the internet takes time and by the time a commuter has located the appropriate traffic information, it may already be either out-of-date or no longer of interest to the commuter.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus for an up-to-date transportation notification system which provides up-to-date transportation information to a commuter in a timely manner to allow the commuter to utilize the transportation information to for commute-related decisions. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.